[audioKyle]

So with the overall success of the aviators I guess skullcandy decided to make a smaller on ear version of there aviator headphones. I tried search but nothing came up on these here. Interested to see how these sound since I quite liked the aviators. Anyone tried them out yet?

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

So with the overall success of the aviators I guess skullcandy decided to make a smaller on ear version of there aviator headphones. I tried search but nothing came up on these here. Interested to see how these sound since I quite liked the aviators. Anyone tried them out yet?

 
They were publicly announced 2 days ago...  So I doubt anyone here has gotten their hands on them.  

 

[JK1]

The Navigator was announced in October.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/07/skullcandy-unveils-navigator-on-ear-headphones-we-take-a-first/
 
At least it is priced at $99 vs $150 for the Aviator, so it is a step in the right direction. They need to make some nice sounding headphones which retail under $50  to effectively compete against JVC. I am still waiting for a $12 headphone which sounds better than the JVC HA-S160. I have a feeling it will be a long wait(I am also waiting for a $35 mp3 player that is better than the Sandisk Clip+).

 

[robble]

Quote:

The Navigator was announced in October.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/07/skullcandy-unveils-navigator-on-ear-headphones-we-take-a-first/
 
At least it is priced at $99 vs $150 for the Aviator, so it is a step in the right direction. They need to make some nice sounding headphones which retail under $50  to effectively compete against JVC. I am still waiting for a $12 headphone which sounds better than the JVC HA-S160. I have a feeling it will be a long wait(I am also waiting for a $35 mp3 player that is better than the Sandisk Clip+).

...well, I'm sure they've captured the urban market effectively that they don't need some nice sounding headphones to compete with JVC. The aviators were a great step in the right direction, and at $150 they sounded relatively good.

 

[tinyman392]

The press release was made 2 days ago though from Skullcandy.  http://investors.skullcandy.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=727335

 

[JK1]

Quote:

...well, I'm sure they've captured the urban market effectively that they don't need some nice sounding headphones to compete with JVC. The aviators were a great step in the right direction, and at $150 they sounded relatively good.

Skullcandy seems to have  made some steps in the right direction, and its stock price(SKUL) seems to have stopped dropping. The stock hit a high of around $20 around 16 months ago, and now it is around $8.10. It might be a good turnaround candidatate if they can keep coming out with more affordable decent headphones. The Navigator looks like it may take plenty of market share from the M80, which at $200 seems too expensive(although now I see the V-Moda M80 at $153 on Amazon. If the M80 price drops under $100 its popularity might greatly increase).
 
94% of headphone sales in the US are for headphones under $100.
 
 
"Still, the bulk of the headphone market sits at the lower end. Arnold said about 72% of headphone sales take place in the $25-and-under category, with another 22% in the midrange, between $25 and $100. Those price brackets are dominated by brands such as Sony Corp. (US:SNE) (JP:6758), Phillips, JVC and the newly public Skullcandy Inc. (US:SKUL)"
 
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-02-24/industries/31094075_1_headphone-market-bob-marley-marley-family/2

 

[Rhymenoceros]

Quote:

The Navigator looks like it may take plenty of market share from the M80, which at $200 seems too expensive(although now I see the V-Moda M80 at $153 on Amazon. If the M80 price drops under $100 its popularity might greatly increase).

don't you think M-80 under $100 would be quite unrealistic, considering you're paying for both the quality of sound and the nigh-indestructible build of the headphones?  i'm pretty sure even at sale around $130 they're taking a loss.  only way you'd get them for less is 2nd hand, and i'd be very wary of anybody selling them for anything less than $100.  unlikely this will happen in the near future or possibly ever.
 
also i agree the ha-s160 sounds brilliant for the price but the isolation and especially the build quality are (understandably) lacking.
 
put those drivers in a better enclosure/build for $40-50 and i'd consider it a pretty sweet deal.

 

[JK1]

Quote:

don't you think M-80 under $100 would be quite unrealistic, considering you're paying for both the quality of sound and the nigh-indestructible build of the headphones?  i'm pretty sure even at sale around $130 they're taking a loss.  only way you'd get them for less is 2nd hand, and i'd be very wary of anybody selling them for anything less than $100.  unlikely this will happen in the near future or possibly ever.
 
also i agree the ha-s160 sounds brilliant for the price but the isolation and especially the build quality are (understandably) lacking.
 
put those drivers in a better enclosure/build for $40-50 and i'd consider it a pretty sweet deal.

How do you know how much the M80 costs to make? Perhaps they might be able to get the M80 to retail for under $100 and still be profitable if they eliminate the second cable and case? The cost of production depends on volume though, and we don't know what the cost equations look like.
 
Imo the JVC HA-S160 is very well built, especially for a headphone under $20. I find the JVC HA-S140 and HA-S360 though to be quite flimsy.

 

[Rhymenoceros]

i'm just considering you don't see the build quality of the M-80 in most headphones retailing under $200.  metal construction is unlikely, most headphones under that price bracket don't seem to have nearly the same attention to detail or durability.  of course there's some exceptions but i haven't really seen anything that matches the same build for under $100 (koss pro dj100 might be an exception).
 
ha-s160 broke very easily at one of the swivel joints (had to glue it in place), and eventually the opposite driver just completely died.  not complaining for the ~$10 i paid for it but it's definitely not stellar.
 
as for these navigators, they actually look interesting but if they're anything like the aviators it's a complete impossibility that they'll fit my head   if my work sells them eventually may be able to try them for roughly $60-70, we'll see...

 

[robble]

Not quite sure what sort of headphones they're considering, but seeing how 75% of the purchases I see in college are JVC earbuds or skullcandy earbuds, then of course the $25 and under price bracket is where most purchases are going to. It's not like people are buying cheap, inexpensive earbuds because they sound good. They buy them because they're cheap replacements for their iPhone earpods.
 
In that same regard, I mean, nobody really questions the build quality of Sennheiser. But sound and build quality aren't really a factor when people are going to look into a store and say, hey look cheap headphones that match my color!

 

[JK1]

"i'm just considering you don't see the build quality of the M-80 in most headphones retailing under $200."
 
The Sony V6 is around $65 and extremely study. Several people here have been using the same Sony V6 headphone for over 20 years.

 

[audioKyle]

So I just tried these out at the apple store today and I am disappointed to say that these sound pretty bad. They sound nothing like the aviators. These are extremely bassy and muddled. Mids are very recessed and trebles are also recessed. Honestly sound very similar to some skullcandy titans that my brother has. The build is okay. Pretty much the same as the aviators. These have a flat cable too. The remote though is big and feels very cheap and plasticky. Probably the best thing about these are the comfort since these were very comfortable and isolate pretty well.

 

[Tom D B]

Here's some more info on the Navigator. late to the thread, but thought I'd share http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihIZWx9JX1A

 

[a_recording]

Just for anyone who is curious, I got a pair of these to try out. They are definitely not as balanced as the Aviators, but the design is pretty smart.
 
I'll have a video review up at some point / comparisons against the UE4000 :3

 

[a_recording]

Added my review to the head gear database for anyone who is interested...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/skullcandy-navigator-headphone-w-mic3-black-black-one-size/reviews/9062